News & Issues

Protect Alberta communities and businesses by building flood mitigation

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Meagan Parisian

Too much to risk

With another flood season fast approaching, the PCs’ dithering has left Alberta’s river communities and downtown Calgary unprotected from flooding. Until adequate flood mitigation is in place, lives, homes and thousands of jobs remain remain at risk. Another flood could devastate our river communities and jeopardize Calgary’s role as a key economic center of Canada.

Two years after the flood: insufficient mitigation plans, zero shovels in the ground

The PCs identified Springbank Dry Dam as the only option the government would be pursuing despite studies showing that the Springbank project alone is insufficient to protect Calgary and at-risk river communities. Additional mitigation is essential.

Work on Springbank has not even begun. The PCs even missed the recent deadline to complete the required environmental impact assessment in time for the next construction season. These unnecessary delays are putting the lives of Albertans and the 159,000 jobs in downtown Calgary at risk.

A broken disaster relief program

The second anniversary of the 2013 flood is approaching yet thousands of Albertans affected by the flood have yet to receive compensation from the PC government. The PCs' floodway buyouts hollowed out our communities and didn’t help the majority of families. As of last October, $84 million in provincial tax dollarshad been spent on buying out 42 flood damaged homes in Alberta, while other homeowners who experienced hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage received less than $30,000 in assistance from the DRP.

The Alberta Party has a better way.

We will fight to ensure that the government lives up to its responsibility to provide disaster relief funds to flood victims and spend tax dollars effectively to mitigate destruction from future floods.

The Alberta Party will:

1. Advocate for people struggling for Disaster Relief Program funds.

Albertans need timely access to relief funds so they can rebuild and move on with their lives. Flood victims need a strong advocate to fix the Disaster Relief Program and get them the assistance they need.

2. Build flood mitigation now.

The Springbank Dry Dam project alone is insufficient to at-risk river communities and downtown Calgary. We believe the province must proceed with the Glenmore Diversion Tunnel given the severity of the risk of a major flood destroying downtown Calgary, one of Canada’s economic engines.

3. Sell floodway buyout properties back into the market.

The Alberta Party is the only party with a policy to re-sell buyout properties into the market once flood mitigation is in place to recover at least a portion of the money wasted on buyouts. As important, this will help make our communities whole again.

A proven flood advocate

Alberta Party Leader Greg Clark, who lives in a flood affected community, understands that flood mitigation is an investment that will protect lives, homes and jobs. After helping his neighbours clean out their basements following the 2013 flood, Greg became a powerful advocate for Calgary’s flood affected communities. As a co-founder of the Calgary River Communities Action Group, he has worked tirelessly for the families who lost their homes during that terrible time.